The OpenDocument Format (ODF) can prove particularly useful to the public sector where the interoperability of information systems is more than essential to eGovernment. The unanimous adoption of the ODF as an International Standard (ISO/IEC 26300) last year served as a springboard for ODF adoption and use by governments worldwide.

All the on-line documents of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation of Denmark have been in ODF since September 2006. Moreover, from January 2008 all electronic document exchanged between Danish public authorities and citizens will be available in formats based on open standards.

Other significant examples can be found in the EU. For instance, the Council of Ministers of Belgium decided that from September 2008, ODF will be the only standard in use within public administration. From its side, the German government announced that it intends to draw up a plan for the introduction of ODF into the German federal administration.

In France, the future interoperability framework for public information systems (‘RGI’) recommends the use of ODF as the standard format for office automation documents. It also makes it compulsory for the authorities to accept any file in ODF for the exchange of such documents. Lastly, the text forbids migrations from the commonly used office automation format to any other format than ODF.

In Italy as well, ODF is seen as a means to guarantee the efficiency and flexibility of transactions between public authorities and citizens. Therefore the country’s standardisation body (UNI) published the national standard UNI CEI ISO/IEC 26300 as an adoption of ODF.

But the enthusiasm for open format standards is also spreading outside Europe, like in Japan, where the government recently adopted an interoperability framework which states that ministries and agencies will give preference to bids from software vendors whose products support internationally recognised open standards.

Further information:

• OpenDocument Format for Office Applications 
• ePractice news item 
• Italian Organisation for Standardisation (UNI) 
• UNI CEI ISO/IEC 26300:2007 
• UNI Press release (in Italian) 
• Government Technology